Recap: Ron Zook’s last season at Illinois was the mirror image of Rich Rod’s last season at Michigan. Instead of a stellar offense trying to keep pace with a defense that kept giving up free touchdowns, it was a stellar defense trying to hold up long enough for the offense to maybe fall forward into field goal range.

The offense wasn’t that horrible at the beginning of the season. At least, it wasn’t supposed to be. The Illini returned QB Nathan Scheelhaase, who had a breakout freshman season of sorts in 2010. They lost RB Mikel Leshoure to the Lions, for whom he couldn’t play because he tore his Achilles tendon (but hey, who’s bitter about that), but they had seemingly quality options behind him in Jason Ford and Troy Pollard. At receiver they had a quality deep threat in A.J. Jenkins, who finished 6th in the Big Ten in yardage the previous season.

In today's recruiting roundup, Sam Webb goes in-depth with Logan Tuley-Tillman and Laquon Treadwell, discusses new offers and visits, and takes a look ahead at a couple of 2014 prospects. Also, Derek Dooley whines about not being able to oversign. You stay classy, SEC.

ALEX KOZAN UPDATE

There is no Alex Kozan update. Please stop asking. When he makes a decision, you'll know. Do not disturb the tao of the vision quest.

[Preparing for spring practice] includes making every voluntary workout session, hitting the books hard and preparing for Big Ten football. He and strength coach Aaron Wellman aren't best friends yet, but "getting there," Bolden said with a chuckle.

"It's strenuous, but good," he said. "That's one of the reasons I came in early, to get in and get my body in shape to play Big Ten football. I've gained three pounds (in a month), and I don't think it's fat."

Bolden came in at 225 pounds, so it sounds like he's well on his way to being physically ready to see the field this fall.

Tennessee coach Derek Dooley rants against the SEC's new restrictions on oversigning over at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I really don't even know where to start; he thinks oversigning is "good for the student-athlete," complains that he can no longer greyshirt recruits who were injured as seniors—claiming that they could get just as good medical care at home as they would with the professional medical staff at Tennessee—and is mad he's no longer able to take guys who aren't academically eligible. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that such idiotic scumbaggery is coming from a guy who regularly wears orange pants and has a history of blocking legitimate transfer requests, but man... if he disappears in the near future, it's because Nick Saban decided Dooley wasn't a suitable spokesman for the SEC way of doing things.

Teach Me How To Logie

Peoria (IL) Manual OT Logan Tuley-Tillman and Crete (IL) Monee WR Laquon Treadwell both visited Ann Arbor last weekend—and, perhaps more importantly, brought along their mothers—getting a chance to take in the basketball game against Illinois and check out the Big House when it's not packed with 110,000+ people. After the visit, Sam Webb interviewed the recruits and their moms on WTKA, and video of the interviews is posted on Scout. Tuley-Tillman's is broken into three parts; part one is free, and parts two and three are behind a paywall. Logan confirmed that Michigan is definitely his top school—it was his "sixth or seventh" visit, and he's looking to come up again this weekend—followed by Alabama and Florida State. MGoUser WolverineInABag had a summary of the rest of the interview, which I'm reprinting below [emphasis mine]:

-Michigan remains his outright leader, by a long shot

-This was LTT's 6th visit to Michigan, 1st with his mother

-Has developed a great relationship with Coach Funk

-His Aunt living close to Ann Arbor is VERY important to him

-His Mother wants him to go to UM, and she seemingly stressed that several times in the interview

-His Mother calls him "Logie"

-He will take all of his official visits

-Loves the family atmosphere at Michigan

This was his mother's first trip to Ann Arbor with Logan, and she came away very impressed with the school and the coaches. While Logan plans on taking his time and seeing other schools, at this point it's difficult to see him not ending up at Michigan—he's already been inside Nick Saban's office and come out with the Wolverines as his leader.

Treadwell's interview is spread over two parts, again with the first part up for free and the second paywalled. Though Treadwell is also slowing it down and won't name a leader at this time, he did say that Michigan at one point held a big lead and they're now in his top group with Michigan State—where he also visited last weekend, and enjoyed it—and Notre Dame. He's been impressed with his recruiters at Michigan, Coach Montgomery and Coach Hecklinski, and so was his mother. One very interesting development is that Treadwell, Tuley-Tillman, and Joliet (IL) Academy RB Ty Isaac are in regular communication about their recruitments; they're considering all going to the same school and would like to visit Ann Arbor together. That would be one heck of a package deal.

Speaking of Isaac, Webb posted an excerpt from a full magazine feature in which he interviews the junior's father, Tyrone, and they discussed Isaac's visit to Ann Arbor in January. It appears that Fred Jackson is pretty keen on coaching Isaac in the future:

Sam Webb: What were some other things, aside from the genuineness, that kind of stuck out to you during your time on campus?

Tyrone Isaac: “One of the things that really stuck out was Coach Jackson. When we walked in there, he had a plan for him. No other place that we went had a plan. He had dates written down, and he had, ‘if you commit, you know, I want you to know all the plays before you ever get on campus’, you know? For me, you have to have a game plan. You know? Seriously, you have to have a game plan.”

Wyatt Shallman—another running back recruit, and that has been reiterated to him several times—visited this past weekend as well, and he reported that he enjoyed the visit and his talk with Jackson ($). Shallman is in no hurry to commit and won't name any leaders; right now he's focused on working out with his Catholic Central teammates after being hampered by a hamstring injury for most of his junior year (he says he's now back to 100%).

Offers, Visits, and Lists (Oh My)

A few new offers for class of 2013 prospects came in over the weekend. Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter's Prep CB Tre Bell received his offer from Curt Mallory on Sunday; I interviewed him yesterday and will have that transcribed and posted in the near future. The offers have been pouring in for Bell—a three-star to 24/7—over the last couple weeks, including ones from Florida, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The Wolverines also offered 6'5", 295-pound tackle John Montelus, who hails from Everett (MA). He recently was named the #214 overall prospect in the Rivals250. Tremendous has a quick rundown of their interview with him (linked above), and I should be talking to him within the next day or so.

One of the top running backs in the country, Cypress (TX) CyRanch's Keith Ford earned his offer over the weekend. He's a highly-sought prospect with a current top five of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Florida State and Alabama, and he holds offers from all five of those schools. It could be very tough to bring him in, though potentially not as tough as many Texas prospects—he's originally from Jacksonville, though that also makes Florida State a more intriguing destination.

Michigan also offered another running back, Cordova (TN) St. Benedict's Jordan Wilkins, who also holds offers from Tennessee, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Arkansas and Memphis ($, info in header). Wilkins is still waiting to hear from some big-names schools, as well as visit the places he's been offered from, but he did name a preliminary top five:

"Right now I don't have a top list, but it was Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Ohio State and now that Michigan popped in there that's probably my top five," [Wilkins] said.

Meanwhile, several top prospects have stated intentions to visit Ann Arbor. Four-star Pickerington (OH) Central DE Taco Charlton will be in Ann Arbor this weekend, and he mentioned the possibility of an early commitment to Scout ($, info in header) [emphasis mine]:

"It'll just be great to get a chance to talk to all of the coaches you know Mattison, Hoke," said Charlton. "I got a chance to talk to Singletary and Montgomery and Coach Smith just them right there was great, especially that they came all the way down to Ohio to see me. That just shows that they're showing love to me already."

The question now is how much of that love will Charlton reciprocate when he is in Ann Arbor next weekend. Might a commitment take place while he is on campus?

"It might be a little slight chance," Charlton said with a smile. "We'll see how things go after the visit, then we'll talk after that. I definitely want to enjoy the visit first."

Charlton has maintained throughout the process that Michigan getting in on him early was a big point in their favor. We'll have to see if he decides that's enough of a factor—along with potential early playing time, another priority—to end his recruitment early.

Running through the other players who plan on visiting and don't have set dates yet: Richmond (VA) RB Derrick Green, who wants to visit this summer and said Fred Jackson is "one of the coaches that’s going to keep it 100 with me," which is just a fantastic quote ($); Good Counsel (MD) CB Kendall Fuller, one of the top prospects in the country ($, info in header); Shaker Heights (OH) DL Donovan Munger, who's hoping for an offer soon and "definitely" plans on visiting ($); Cleveland Glenville S Christopher Worley—confusing, I know—who currently holds just a Bowling Green offer but has several big-name schools, including Ohio State, interested ($); Avon (OH) athlete Ross Douglas would "love to have that [Michigan] offer," and he's talking to Greg Mattison about taking a visit ($).

A couple of rising sophomore defensive linemen have expressed interest in Michigan recently. Allen Trieu has a free article on Detroit Loyola DE Malik McDowell, who's coming off a fantastic performance at last weekend's Elite Big Man camp ($). McDowell plans to camp at Michigan, MSU, and LSU, but he had a one-word answer when asked which school he rooted for growing up: "Michigan." Look for the Wolverines to be heavily involved in his recruitment, and also for him to be one of the top prospects in the 2014 class.

Another player who could earn that distinction is Thiensville (WI) Homestead DT Brandon Hines, who's recently spoke to Greg Mattison and has expressed interest in Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Boston College, and Arkansas early ($). I should be talking to Brandon this week as well, so you'll be hearing more from him soon.

Sometime over the weekend one of the announcers mentioned that David Wohlberg and Torey Krug were teammates back when they were little kids and that struck me as odd because Wohlberg is a senior and Krug is a junior. However, a quick birthdate check shows that Krug is only a few months younger than Wohlberg and they could have been on the same teams.

Then you check Chris Heisenberg because one of your buddies asks you if State has anyone coming in next year worth noting and the birthdates leap off the page:

Michigan's always had a few overage kids scattered around the roster—Langlais and Chiasson are the most recent. Often they're depth guys picked up late when Michigan has a roster hole to fill. That '91 above is goalie Steve Racine, who's being brought in to back up NTDP goalie Jared Rutledge. That's inevitable when the NHL is signing guys every summer and every quality NHL-draft eligible player has been committed to a school for two years.

Michigan State has made them the rule rather than the exception, though. Two of eight underclassmen are the proper year for their class. Two of six juniors are as well. The seniors are the only class that looks vaguely like a team that recruits at a high level: five guys who came to college immediately after receiving a high school degree, four who didn't. The creeping Comleyization is clear.

And yet every game Michigan plays against them is a narrow, stomach-churning affair. This made all the sense in the world when they were coming off a November from hell. It makes less after they've gone on a run that sees them leap to second in the PWR.

Rivalry? I guess. After the Lee/Merritt defections blew up a basketball team it's hard to scoff at all clichés.

----------------------------

The thing about it is: while MSU has played Michigan relatively even this year, that talent distribution has lead to years in which the Spartans are awful alternating with ones in which they're decent. When they're decent they finish a few games back of the champion, make the Joe sometimes, and limp into the tournament as a three seed. Once they managed to spin this into a national title but no one thinks that was anything more than a few near-random games.

So unless there's a galvanizing event like Corey Tropp using Steve Kampfer's head for driving practice, games against State have to compete with those of ten years ago on their own terms. They come up flat most of the time. The best days of this rivalry are so long ago that Michigan State's players can remember them.

I couldn't have done it without your hatred of scoring chances, fun, and America

I miss the days when I loathed Mason's brand of suffocating anti-hockey. It's just not the same when you're beating Torey Krug and a bunch of guys who fondly remember Charles In Charge. When the Big Ten fires up I'll probably switch maximum hatred to Minnesota (because obviously).

The good news is that Heisenberg's page shows Tom Anastos's philosophy. State's got one 2013 commit, an NTDPer, and five 2014 guys. Four of them are '96es. Who knows if they're any good yet, but at least Michigan State is back to recruiting like a team that expects to be elite instead of Southern Northern Michigan.

It will take some time for the Comley geezers to clear the roster, though. We're looking at another five years of Michigan-Michigan State hockey being a cute regional showcase before there's any hope of violent, bowel-shaking clashes. And we're relying on a guy whose first year of coaching is this one. Ask again later.

Bullets that don't understand this newfangled grunge stuff

League status. Ferris State's resounding sweep of Notre Dame (ND's only goal on the weekend came after Ferris took a 5-0 lead Saturday) makes them a heavy favorite. Baseball standings are not super useful anymore but here they are anyway:

Rank

Team

W

L

T

Pts.

GF-GA

Games

GB

1

Ferris State

14

6

4

47

70-56

24

-

2

Western Michigan

12

9

3

42

63-56

24

1 2/3

3

Michigan

12

8

4

41

72-53

24

2

Lake Superior

11

9

4

41

60-60

24

2

5

Michigan State

11

10

3

38

70-62

24

3

6

Ohio State

11

10

5

39

73-71

26

3 2/3

Miami

11

11

2

36

59-53

24

3 2/3

Northern Michigan

9

9

6

36

62-67

24

3 2/3

Notre Dame

11

10

3

36

60-62

24

3 2/3

10

Alaska

7

15

4

27

58-68

26

7 2/3

11

Bowling Green

4

16

4

19

34-73

24

9 1/3

If the Bulldogs take care of BGSU next weekend they've got it in the bag unless Western takes all six points in the final league series. Michigan is fairly secure for a first round bye and a second round home series, but the parity of the league is such that Michigan could play damn near anyone in the second round.

Aside: Ferris is now 20-8-4 and #2 in the PWR rankings. They are in position to turn in the best year in program history, and good for them. Bob Daniels's teams have always played an interesting up-tempo style of hockey and if they had a bastard or two along the way at least they were bastards who scored a ton of goals. (Chris Kunitz most prominently.)

I hope they can find their footing in the rapidly approaching new world order. If Michigan isn't going to continue "so-called rivalries" (Berenson's words) against Miami and Notre Dame they'd better be filling their nonconference schedule with Michigan teams. I'm not up for 14 Atlantic Hockey opponents every year.

Pairwise status. Michigan's weekend was as close to a nonentity as is possible: their RPI hardly budged and their record against teams under consideration got slightly worse. Teams move around them, however, and Michigan slipped. That's because Ferris surged forward after a sweep of a strong opponent and BC won the Beanpot.

The ballpark estimate from a couple weeks ago—that Michigan needed to go 6-2 down the stretch to have a one-seed when the playoffs start—is looking a little shaky at the moment after Denver swept Minnesota. That plus some dumb COP stuff gives them the comparison against Michigan despite a yawning RPI gap; you want them to lose a bunch down the stretch.

Teams you want to lose:

Ferris State. Comparison is based entirely on RPI and Michigan will win if Ferris slips up down the stretch.

Denver. Michigan can't do anything but hope Denver loses games against TUCs.

Alaska. Michigan's only opponent near the TUC cliff. M's 1-1 record against them means they would like to see them drop out.

Northeastern. See Alaska except M is 0-1 against them.

BC. Michigan has that comparison at the moment but it's narrow and they'll lose it if BC beats them in RPI.

Lowell. See BC.

It is still status quo: it will be hard to take comparisons against UMD and BU; everything else is fair game.

Treais. All of the secondary scoring is coming from AJ Treais, and he's doing most of it himself. There was a good cycle to get him a scoring opportunity on Saturday but the rest of it is just Treais taking shots from decent or bad angles and sniping it. Hope he can keep it up.

Lynches. Kevin got two this weekend but I was not surprised when Red said this postgame:

“I can tell you, there were times in the third period I thought about not putting him out in the overtime,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “That line got caught in their own zone and they got in trouble. And I thought, I don’t know if I can trust them in the overtime.

“I know that Kevin’s had a good record against Michigan State. I know he’s had a good record at Joe Louis. They got one shift in overtime, and bingo. So you never know.”

That's officially the fourth line, and it's scary when they get caught out there with the bottom pairing and can't clear the zone. Michigan seemed to carry play when that wasn't happening; that was happening far too often.

At least they scored, something you can't say for…

Nominal third line. I don't get it. They look somewhere from pretty to very dangerous when they're out on the ice but the Hyman-Moffatt-Sparks combo cannot put a puck in the net. Hyman has two goals on the year; Sparks hasn't gotten a point since he returned from the land of healthy scratches, and Moffatt has done a little bit of damage but on the power play IIRC.

But it looks like they will score at some point. Sparks is shoveling passes across the crease with regularity; someone is going to get a stick on one of them and put it into the net. Sparks also rang a post last weekend. It'll come. Maybe.

Rolling lines versus riding your horse. It seemed like Krug and Shelgren got literally every other shift both nights, didn't it? It was certainly a different approach than Red's determination to roll his lines and pairings pretty much evenly even when the back end isn't holding up their part of the bargain. Red has occasionally taken a sixth defenseman out of the equation but it seems like M would benefit from putting the big line out there more frequently.

Phoenix (AZ) Brophy Prep WR Devon Allen has garnered some major recruiting buzz after stellar sophomore and junior seasons. The 6'1", 190-pound junior had 60 catches for 915 yards and six TDs in 2010 and followed that up with 44 catches for 844 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2011; his performance earned him the #110 overall slot in the Rivals250, a three-star ranking on 24/7, and a spot on the ESPNU 150 Watch List. After picking one up from Michigan a week before signing day, Allen now holds offers from the Wolverines, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado State, Duke, Mississippi State, Oregon State, Purdue, Stanford, and Washington, and he's garnered interest from the heavy-hitters on the West Coast. I caught up with Devon last week to talk about his recruitment:

ACE: How's everything going with your recruitment and which teams are pursuing you the hardest right now?

DEVON: It's going pretty well. I've got a couple offers here and there. The schools talking to me the most right now are probably Washington, Ohio State, and a little bit of Notre Dame and Oregon.

ACE: I know you picked up an offer from Michigan recently. Who is the coach who's been in contact with you and what was your reaction to getting the offer?

DEVON: Coach Don Ferrigno. It was kind of surprising because I haven't really been in contact with Michigan, so when they just showed up I thought it was going to be just another coach coming to meet me and talking to me. I guess they had some interest and saw my highlight tape and they liked what they saw.

ACE: What are your thoughts on Michigan as a school?

DEVON: I know for sure that it's a great school. I've heard that it has a great campus, a beautiful campus. I know it's a big powerhouse football school, it's always been since a long time ago, so it would be a great place to maybe look at going, maybe attending Michigan.

ACE: Do you have any favorites early on in the process or is it too soon to say right now?

DEVON: Not really. I've only visited two schools, Stanford and ASU [ed. note: he's since visited USC for their junior day], so I kind of know what they're about right now. I'm originally from Washington, so I know the weather and the environment up at the University of Washington; those are the schools I know the most about. I'm trying to get around, maybe take some unofficial visits, go to some junior days here in the near future, just see what some of the other schools have to offer.

ACE: Do you have any of those junior day visits planned out yet?

DEVON: I think so. I should be attending the USC junior day this weekend on Sunday.

ACE: Going back to your junior year, how do you think you performed and what kind of numbers did you put up?

DEVON: I don't know exactly, I know it's a little over 800 [yards] and I know I scored 17 touchdowns, but that's about it. The season went pretty well. As a team we were young, so we have some growing to do still. We all wanted to win state, that was the main goal, so we were disappointed, but other than that I think if you ask my team we overall had a good year and we got to know each other. We'll just keep growing over this next year and we should be in contention for a state championship in Arizona.

ACE: If you had to scout yourself on the field, what would you say are your biggest strengths as a player and what are you working on to improve for your senior year and the next level?

DEVON: I'd say [my strengths are] definitely my speed and my route-running, my ability to make plays, my size—I'm a little over 6'1". I've been gaining some weight here lately because I've been working out, so I'm getting kind of on the heavier side, I'm 190 right now. Something I can improve on is definitely blocking, that's what all the coaches are looking at so I definitely take pride in that. I can always get better at route-running, learning the game and knowing what to do in certain situations—you know, a cover 2, how to beat that, if there's a press, how to beat that, learn all the receiver positions so I can play anywhere on the field.

ACE: Looking ahead in your recruitment, what do you think it's going to come down to when you make a decision, what are going to be the deciding factors for you?

DEVON: I really don't know 100% yet, but I think they'll be the environment, the program, and what they have to offer education-wise. But really it's up in the air right now, I have to get to know all the coaches, all the staff, and figure out what I want to be when I grow up, see what major I want to major in. It will be a tough process, but it should be a fun one.

ACE: In terms of a timeline, do you have any idea when you'd like to get things wrapped up?

DEVON: I think I definitely want to commit just right after football season. I'm not really into that whole hat-picking thing that all the players do, it'd be nice, but I think that's kind of disrespecting the other coaches, leaving it up to the final day to pick your school so if you don't pick their school the other team has to go and find a recruit to fill the spot. I'll probably commit maybe a month, a month or two before signing day and then I'll just sign.

ACE: Going away from football, what's one thing that you like to do away from the field that's something you think people would like to know about you?

DEVON: I run track, that's a big thing for me, I'll probably run track in college also. Also, I like to play music. I'm learning the piano right now and I'm getting pretty good at it. That's a hobby of mine. Then at track, I got second in the state at the 200 [meter dash], second in the 110 hurdles last year as a sophomore, so this year I'm hopefully going to be in contention for winning it.

ACE: What kind of music do you like playing on the piano?

DEVON: I like classical, it always sounds cool, but for my generation it's more the modern music, the music that's on the radio all the time. I'll just get some sheet music for that, look it up on the internet, and just play with it and see how it sounds and manipulate it to see if it sounds good the way you play it. It's fun to me to be able to play and people are impressed by it, so I always like to do that.

Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the I

Things of offense: Manliness, shotgun, impeccable timing, and options

Over the last few seasons we've talked a lot in this space about how shotgun formations and the spread are awesome, while anything else will steal your children. This is a myth—all offenses that score points are equal—but you could almost be forgiven for thinking that we are spread zealots when we have a tag called "i am a spread zealot no foolies." Most of the time we were saying "this is what Michigan should run right now," but to say most of the authors here haven't been partial to Oregonian offenses is an insult to your bias sensors.

Part of this is because I haven't always used the most correct terminology, or used sets and formation and personnel and philosophies as interchangeable when they're not. What we haven't said very much is talk about other offensive philosophies and why they are awesome too. What I'd like to do then is rectify some of that.

HUUUGE thank you to Tyler Sellhorn and Steve Sharik for looking over this stuff, then saying "omigod this is only like 10% of what offense is." Everything below that is correct came from them, but as you read I ask you only think of them as exasperated professors watching their theories butchered by a student presentation.

I. What's the Point of Offense?

Scoring is the point. How you get there is what we're talking about, and that's strategy. Offensive strategy comes down to a fairly simple concept: find a thing that you can beat a base defense with most of the time, then build in things around it to force the defense to defend you with a base defense. Anything can be adjusted to, but adjustments are usually unsound and thus make some other aspect easier than it should be. Where coaches disagree is on what that thing is, and whether to get so good at that as to be nigh unbeatable at it, or to get good at other things that beat base defenses too. What follows is a layman's oversimplification of offensive formations, and how they relate to offensive philosophies by a layman who needs to oversimplify it to get it.

When I started trying to make formations and philosophies into the same thing, two coaches I asked about it said don't do that because personnel groups matter more. A formation is two things: personnel (how many RBs and TEs vs. receivers are there) and set (how they line up). Common backfield sets are the words you're probably most familiar with: a. I-Form, b. Split-backs, c. Ace, and d. Shotgun.

a. b.

c. d.

But these words are only part of the set nomenclature. "I-Form" means the RB, FB, and HB are more or less in a line (though the FB is often shifted one way or another). "Split-Backs" refers to where the RBs are lined up, whereas "Shotgun" just means where the quarterback is lined up. What you know as "Ace" is actually referring to personnel, i.e. there is just 1 RB in the backfield. In the above examples both (c.) and (d.) could be called "Ace."

"Pro Set" is a specific alignment of the wide receivers, where one side has a receiver (the "flanker") plus a tight end, and the other side has just one receiver, the "split end."

The part defensive coaches are most concerned about when they're matching is not the set but the personnel. Football coaches express personnel in numeric terms you may have heard them yell at their wards but never understood: Twelve! Twenty! Twenty-One!, i.e. 12, 20, 21. These numbers, like "43" for a 4-3 defensive alignment, are combo digits where the first refers to the number of running backs out there, and the second to how many tight ends. So "12" means there's one running back and two TEs, "21" is two RBs and a TE, "11" is one RB and one TE. A third digit in the representation is the receiver count, e.g. 104 personnel means 1 RB, 0TE, 4 WRs.

There are tradeoffs to how you line up your backfield, especially in the running game. A running back who starts the play behind the quarterback (a., b., or c.) will get the handoff a few yards behind the line of scrimmage with a running start in the direction you want the ball to go, but if the QB's getting a shotgun snap that handoff occurs six feet behind the line of scrimmage, and if the RB is moving it's not forward. This is a considerable disadvantage—one second after the snap a ball carrier about to hit his hole at full speed is far preferable to one at a dead stop far behind the line of scrimmage.

"Spread" has virtually lost its meaning but it's basically the opposite of bunching, the idea being to trade off some of the "I can put lots of guys at any point of attack on the line really really fast" for a measure "I can make your defenders pull apart to open up more space for my athletes to beat yours in space." I couldn't find a coach to back me up on this but I see horizontal spreading as a sliding scale between how much of the line of scrimmage in the box can you attack quickly with lots of guys (less spread) or how much of the line of scrimmage outside of the tackles can you attack quickly with one guy in space (more spread). Again, this is a tradeoff between things that are (specific talents nonwithstanding) equal.

Three of the four formations above are made to threaten this quick-strike downhill runner. Having the QB under center gives the RB in an Ace formation that head start. With multiple backs you threaten such quick attacks at multiple gaps in the line (think of two chess bishops next to each other), though when you go to 20-something personnel the defense will likely match.

I-form gets the added bonus of a fullback hitting that same hole even faster, either as a lead blocker or the main attraction. This is the key to such favorite I-form plays as SLAM! and WHAM! and BUHBUHBLAM!!! So long as the O-line can do its job the speed and power with which such an attack hits a base defense can make it good for 3 or 4 yards consistently. I've just described part of the base premise of Manball philosophy.

-----------------------------------

IV. Philosophies

There are plenty more than this, but the four concepts that seem to cover most offenses you need to know are:

Manball: My bigger- and stronger- and faster-than-you-are running back and his lead blocker are going to attack any spot between the tackles so fast your defenders won't get there until we're already in your backfield. Requires: Talent across the board. An OL who can't block 1-on-1 can screw up the play; an RB who loses all momentum at the moment of impact is giving up an extra YPP.

Timed Passing: aka "West Coast:" A symphony of route design and timing that puts defenses into a progression of impossible choices, living and exploiting those precious seconds when your zone defender can't be in two places at once. Requires: Quick-thinking, –seeing quarterback with strong arm and laser accuracy, WRs with great hands for catching under duress, pass-pro OLs.

Mesh/Read Passing: Spread, mesh, read, and gun, so on any given play, at any spot on the field, we can put it where you ain't by having QBs and receivers read your coverage and go right to the holes. Requires: Smart QB and receivers who can quickly read a defense, receivers with speed to open up those holes, incessant drilling so that QB and WRs are "in sync" or "on the same page."

Option: Isolate an unblocked defender so that he's forced into a Catch 22; when he makes his decision, take the option he didn't. Requires: QB with running back skills, quicker OL, WRs who can sustain blocks.

All of these are unbeatable strategies if executed properly against a base defense. And it's important to note that none are restricted to any one formation. What was so cool about the Zone Read, which uses an option philosophy, is that it does so from the same formations NFL offenses normally use for their Timed/Read passing games, preserving all of those passing advantages for the constraint plays. At Michigan Rich Rodriguez ran a ton of QB Iso out of a shotgun spread, sending a lead blocker (at times the RB, an H-back, or a pulling guard) into the intended gap and having Denard Robinson (and Feagin before him), act as his own I-back. It's also key to remember that most offenses use many concepts, in fact most NFL offenses today, though they call themselves West Coast, all use concepts that are very Air Raid.

However the formations do have some relationship to the above philosophies. To way oversimplify, here's a matrix of base effectiveness for each common formation and the four above philosophies ("1" being "Most Effective, and "4" being "Least Effective"). Also I'm comparing the formations to each other; West Coast still works quite well out of the I-form I'll have you know.

Shotgun Spread (11, 12)

I-Form (21, 20, 22, 23)

Split Back (20, 21, 22)

Ace (12, 13)

MANBALL

4. Can work as a changeup (e.g. the delay) against defenses keying on ZR or pass, or with a great rushing QB.

2. Two RBs mean either can get the handoff and get outside the tackles quickly, but any lead-blocking plays are slow to develop.

3. Single RB hits the hole with momentum, but no lead blocker. Power is mostly a check against passing.

Timed Passing (West Coast)

3. RB can stays to help with protection and QB should have time to survey, room to step up into the pocket. But because it's a pass-heavy set the defense will be keying on it, meaning less time to throw.

4. Relies a lot on play-action, rollouts, and the running game being good enough to make opponents cheat on it. Works if D must respect PA.

2. RBs and OL are already set in pocket formation. Great formation for a good Pro-style QB/WR combo to let routes develop. Usually frees a TE or RB in the flat as an outlet. Lack of spread hurts.

1. Horiz. spreading helps, drop-back is timed with routes. PA, threat of screens, end-arounds, and pre-snap motion force D to play it honest.

Mesh/Read Passing

1. QB is immediately in position to see and throw, receivers are spread horiz and vert. However lack of running threat lets D tee off with 9-techs, etc. Most NFL offenses today are this.

4. RBs are mostly limited to flat routes that you can high-low and TE is only inside receiver, but D overplaying run should get WRs good space for curls and slants.

3. Two receiver options are RBs starting far behind the line so meshing routes is difficult. Threat of run establishes pass options.

2. Receivers can be arranged to spread horizontally or bunched to flood a zone, RB acts as center threat.

Option

3. Spread 'n Shred. It gives up ground and is slower to develop. Options btw dive and QB off-tackle; Option 3 is a pre-snap read (bubble screen). Speed option gives up the dive for Options 2 or 3.

2. Nebraska under Osborne. The triple-option is often run from this set since Option 1 (the FB dive) can happen super-quick.

1. The triple-option ("Houston Veer") was born from this set. The playside RB is the dive, and you can option off of multiple front 7 players.

4. One of your "backs" is a receiver so the way to run Triple-O is to put that guy in motion (think Denard Jet), which basically means you're converting to an I-form.

No the formations are not created equal. Some are better at running, others passing. But the thing to remember here is the rule of constraints: if you can do something well from a formation that doesn't do it well, the things that formation does do well are now available to you. Oregon's offense works so well because running so effectively from the spread means defenses have to cheat against the run against an essentially passing formation. Meanwhile MANBALL offenses are best if filled with great passing pieces, e.g. Henne and Braylon/Avant, because if the safeties are backpedaling away from a 21 I-formation, well yipee.

When Brian complains about DeBord it's often because his playcalling was so predictable. The crime here wasn't anything to do with Manball as a Philosophy, but in not using the pass as a constraint, and in telegraphing which side the play was going—more often than not behind Long/Kraus because the other side was Mitchell/ Ciulla/ Schilling/ Ortman/ McAvoy/ Riley/ Whatever—by shifting the fullback to that side. Defenses would do the unsound thing, and there would be zero constraint. Conversely, when I was making yards-per-attempt cases from the UFRs earlier this year it again wasn't anything wrong with Manball the Philosophy, but because the offensive personnel's strengths were the wrong strengths for that philosophy. By 2015 I'm guessing that will have reversed.

Next Museday: a grossly oversimplified matrix of Rock, Paper, Scissors for each philosophy, and the RPS counters by defenses for each, then a long discussion of which philosophy I think Borges really believes in.

A historic moment for U-M seems to be getting a little bit of a short shrift - mgolicious shouldn't be the most notable place for a mention of the first varsity NCAA lacrosse game in Michigan history - so for those interested in the game but who couldn't make it out to Pontiac or watch the live feed, here is a recap. This will be kind of a cheap diary entry, since most of it will just be copying and pasting my updates (plus a few others from other folks) from the de facto game thread. In other words I'm basically just rounding up the thread and its comments in a more digestible form. This way you won't have to do as much scrolling and you can get the feel of the game all in one.

A quick primer: yesterday, the dynastic Michigan lacrosse team took its first step into a larger world with a game against the other instate D-I program, Detroit Mercy, and lost, 13-9. It was a very even, back-and-forth game until about halfway through the third period. The game was hosted by UDM but took place at a neutral venue in Pontiac, which appeared to be almost - if not totally - sold out.

Quasi-play-by-play recap follows, as C&P'ed and polished up a little from the game thread:

- UDM's man-up opportunity amounts to nothing because UDM took an early shot and failed to back it up, U-M ran out the rest of it but gave up the goal shortly after. 2-2 now.

- Michigan up 3-2 after one and looking good in spots. Nice feed for the third goal.

- 4-2 score now with U-M converting a fast break chance.

- Always with the scoring exactly as I'm typing. 4-3. This game started off slowly in the offense department but has a chance to be very high-scoring indeed. Just to drive the point home, 4-4 now with a quick UDM goal off the faceoff.

- Michigan ball now, nice save by the Detroit goalie but a poor clear puts Michigan back on the attack.

- 5-5 now with about 3:30 to go in the half.

- 43 seconds left in the half, Detroit calls timeout to set up one last shot. Tied at 5.

- Halftime and we're all tied up at 5. I would say UDM has the ground ball edge but Michigan is holding its own. (Note: This proved to be a false impression, as Michigan actually had the GB edge in the game, 29-23, with most of that margin coming in the first quarter.)

- UDM up 6-5, early in the 3rd.

- Michigan had a great chance on a fast break but Levell made another beautiful save.

- Goal Michigan, 6-6 now, almost halfway through the third period.

- 7-6 UDM with a Detroit goal from close quarters.

- Sudden scoring spurt - 8-6 Detroit now on a semi-fast-break.

- UDM backs up a Michigan shot and gets the ball, about 5 minutes to go in the 3rd.

- 8-7, Michigan goal, very nice defense behind the net led to getting the ball and a goal with about 3 to go.

- 9-7 Detroit on a hard-fought goal. Michigan wins the ensuing FO and has the ball.

- Detroit with a steal off a terrible pass and a fast-break goal to go up 10-7. 35 seconds left. A lazy, sloppy play.

- 3rd period over with a 10-7 UDM lead.

- 11-7 now on a bounce shot....UDM starting to open it up. 12:18 to go.

- Looks like a UDM EMO coming up. The boys are starting to get a little too desperate.

- And UDM scores on the EMO. Michigan had done a nice job on defense and got the ball, but couldn't hold on as UDM used the extra man to double up and get the ball back. 12-7 Detroit now.

- Looks like an EMO coming for Michigan now. Silly, silly penalty by UDM, which is known to be a little bit of an overemotional team.

- Again nothing doing on the EMO. Detroit ball and Michigan doesn't seem interested in playing aggressively to get it back.

- As soon as the penalty was over, UDM went on the attack again and Michigan got the ball back pretty quickly.

- Time-out, 2:22 to go. UDM holds the 12-8 lead.

- And UDM with what looks like a clincher at 13-8, eight seconds after the end of the TO.

- Michigan with a respectability goal to make it 13-9. 24 seconds.

- Detroit 13, Michigan 9 is the final.

And now for the editorial section:

- 1st quarter: Playing solid defense against what's supposed to be a solid UDM squad offensively. But you can also see why this team will struggle: faceoffs are about even against a team that's been absolutely worthless at the X, and the man-up chance didn't look good at all, no coordination or sense of urgency to attack.

- Halftime: Though only outscored by one, not a good half for Michigan. Only one goal on a settled situation, the other, IMO coming from taking advantage of mistakes that better teams don't usually make. Detroit exposed a weakness by attacking the SSDMs - didn't always score on it, but created chances. Part of the Michigan offensive slowdown came from improved defense by UDM, though, including one very, very nice save by Titan goalie Levell. Michigan got killed on faceoffs in the 2nd, though, which just can't happen against Detroit, by far one of the worst faceoff teams in the nation.